


How Sweet It Is

by RileyC



Category: All My Children
Genre: F/M, alternate episode ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-20
Updated: 2010-05-20
Packaged: 2017-10-09 15:02:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/88670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RileyC/pseuds/RileyC
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AMC Summer 2009, found Kendall on the run after being found guilty of murder. It was utterly stupid. This fic was written in response.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Sweet It Is

~How Sweet It Is~

"Ohhh…" Pushing herself up, one hand braced against the lumpy mattress, Kendall put a hand to her aching head. _Memo to self_, she thought, _take it easy on the wine._

As she looked around the darkened room, still feeling woozy, a couple of memories flashed back to her that made her face burn with embarrassment. Poor Aidan: he tried to do something kind and thoughtful for her, and she made a spectacle of herself.

It had been good, though, remembering old times, maybe coloring them with a rosier shade than was entirely true. Why dwell on the bad stuff, though? Almost all she had were her memories, and she hugged herself as the thought nudged her again, the fear, that she would have to live on those memories for a very long time.

But no, she couldn't do that, couldn't give up, give in to that fear. Zach was working so hard to save her. She did know that. It was just fear working at her, doubts creeping in because she couldn't see him, couldn't feel him and draw strength from that.

Getting up, pacing the room restlessly, frustration at being away from him, from their boys, began to gnaw at her again, thoughts racing with crazy ideas. Aidan wouldn't go back to Pine Valley and leave her on her own? Well - she contemplated the window, the tree right outside - who said Aidan had to have anything to say about it?

She jammed a chair under the door, grabbed her coat, and pushed up the window, slinging one leg over the sill…

~*~

Zach stared through the window, trying to process the lurid tableau before him. Denial screamed through his brain, rage boiling away, urging him to hurtle through that window and tear Devane limb from limb.

Pulling down a deep breath, he paced away, scrubbing his hands over his face, trying to erase that image. Kendall's words echoed through his mind, her vows to him, her promise of, _"Always only us…"_ He'd felt the truth of that pledge, not a doubt in his mind, and he hated the way they were so quick to scramble in now with their poison.

Something was off, something was wrong, That was the certainty, deep down in his bones, that had been churning away in his stomach. Pine Valley was rancid with lies; everyone out for themselves, Kendall's welfare just an afterthought. Seeing those photographs had confirmed his suspicions; not that Kendall was unfaithful, but that the toxic miasma of Pine Valley had followed her, that Devane was tainted with it and couldn't be trusted.

They never got it, either: reading people was what he did. He knew their tells; the wealth of information they relayed with the tiniest muscle twitch. Maybe he couldn't blame them, though. He'd forgotten, too. He'd second-guessed himself too many times and only dug the hole deeper.

He had to remember that now, hang onto that, because these were the highest stakes he had ever played for, and the devil himself wasn't going to make him fold…

~*~

Wincing as she tore a fingernail close to the quick, Kendall didn't spare breath to curse the damage to her manicure. It barely pinged on her radar with freedom so close to hand - and just never mind that she hadn't quite worked out the next part of the plan. Which was: where the hell did she go from here?

Zach had really been remiss in not teaching her how to hotwire a car, she decided as she swung down to the ground, landing in a rough crouch that brought on another attack of light-headedness.

She braced herself against the tree trunk, breathing slow and steady, her head clearing as she scanned the area for inspiration. Visions of hitchhiking through the freezing night filled her thoughts for a moment, and she shuddered in anticipation, before panoramas of high drama were banished with one thought: all she had to do was find a telephone and call Zach.

He wasn't going to be happy. He was going to grumble and growl - and she didn't give a damn. She was tired of sitting around like some damsel in distress waiting to be rescued by her knight in shining armor. Well… she liked that part, her knight, Sir Zach, sweeping her up and carrying her off to his castle, but she could damn well rescue herself in the meantime.

Hugging herself against the cold, Kendall edged her away around the boarding house, cringing at every rustle of dead leaves - and froze in mid-step as a shape loomed up out of the darkness directly in front of her…

~*~

Hearing the crackle of fallen leaves being disturbed, Zach checked his step, trying to melt back into the shadows as a figure came into view. He watched curiously as it crouched, moving stealthily through the night, coming to a dead stop and looking straight at him.

"Zach--"

"Kendall--"

Surprise barely covered what Zach was feeling, and he was fairly certain his trumped Kendall's just at the moment, because if she was here… "Who the hell is that with Devane?"

~*~

Creeping up to peek through the window, Kendall's breath caught in astonishment. "You thought that was me?" she whispered.

"I was _supposed_ to think it was you," Zach whispered back.

Hmph. "She doesn't look anything like me."

"She's got your hair."

"The hell she does." Kendall would bet anything it was a wig. "Does that look like my body?"

"I haven't seen your body in months."

"Excuse me?" she said, shooting him a hard look. "Are you not the man who told me he was memorizing every inch of me when we made love?"

Brows drawn together, Zach said, "When did I say this?"

"You said it, buster," she grumbled.

"Hey, could we have this conversation _after_ I send Devane to intensive care?"

Sneaking another peek through the window, still floored by the elaborate staging - that Aidan would go to such lengths to sustain his sick fantasy - Kendall asked, "How are we going to do this?"

"How are _we_ going to do it?" Zach repeated, clearly disinclined to get behind that idea.

"Don't argue - you won't win."

The grumbly noise deep in his throat told her how much he liked that. "You are infurtiating."

"Yes, I am - and you love it," she said, smile bright.

"Yeah, I do," he whispered back, taking a moment to press a kiss to her temple before taking her hand and drawing her into the shadows. "Here's how we'll play it…"

~*~

The shocked expression on Devane's face as Zach kicked in the door was satisfying. So was the way Devane sprang to his feet, desperation in his eyes as he cast about for some kind of weapon, even as the woman scrambled for a robe to cover her sordid nakedness.

"Where's my wife?" he demanded, advancing slowly, tracking Devane's every move, every flicker of his eyes. The gratification of his fist connecting soundly with Devane's jaw would be fleeting; Zach knew that, and yet he couldn't deny he would welcome any provocation that might arise.

Desperately improvising, Devane said, "She tricked me, she ran away, she…" He trailed off, self-aware enough to realize how lame that sounded.

"Really? And this … display," Zach's gaze rested on the woman a woman, dismissed her, returned to Devane, "is what, exactly?"

"I don't have to justify myself to you!"

"How about to me?" Kendall demanded, stepping into the room.

As she stood there - proud, defiant, hurt at the betrayal, but strengthened by it too - Zach thought she had never been more magnificent. That he had doubted her, for even a moment, astonished and shamed him, and he could only be grateful there would be a lifetime to make it up to her.

Devane was outright gaping now, his accomplice looking resigned and sullen, giving Devane a disgusted look. "Got anymore cunning plans up your sleeve, Aidan?" the woman asked.

Devane shot her a vicious look. "Shut up!" He started toward Zach, challenging, ranting. "You think you have this worked out? You want to hear about the nights we've spent together? You think she's not playing you now to save her as--"

No, actually, Zach realized he had underestimated the pleasure it would give him to knock Devane's block off, as his fist connected with Devane's chin and sent him tumbling backward to crash into a wall.

~*~

Leaning back in the front seat, Kendall let out a deep breath, reveling in the sense of freedom. It wasn't over; that liberty might yet be short-lived, but for this moment in time she felt exhilarated, and damned if she was giving it up one second sooner than she had to.

Well, there was one sour note spoiling her moment. "Are you sure they can't be charged with anything?" she asked Zach as he took out his cell phone. It just didn't seem right that Aidan and Kat could walk away from all this scot free.

"Unfortunately I don't think vile depravity is against the law."

"It should be."

Zach smiled at her, the back of his hand caressing her face, palm cradling her chin for a moment - laughing as she made to bite his thumb. "Let's see what Jesse says."

She was afraid of what Jesse would say, but she hoped it didn't show.

Trying to scoot close enough to listen in on the conversation, she gave Zach a puzzled look when the first words out of Jesse's mouth were, "Let me save you some time, Zach: yes, it's true."

Zach didn't look any more enlightened than she did, frowning at the phone. "What's true, Jesse?"

"Ryan and Erica didn't tell you?"

An impatient growl in his voice, Zach said, "No, Ryan and Erica haven't told me anything. What's going on?"

Kendall pressed a hand to her mouth, not sure what she was anticipating, only that the suspense was killing her. Her amazement couldn't have been more intense than Zach's at Jesse's next words, "Adam Chandler's confessed to everything. The D.A.'s arraigning him in the morning."

Hand still covering her mouth, eyes wide and locked on Zach's, Kendall felt humbled by the relief she saw in his eyes. Resting her head against his, holding him, she wanted to kick herself for doubting, even for an instant, that this man was trying to move heaven and earth for her.

Eyes closed for a moment as he absorbed the news, Zach nodded, asked, "So what happens now?"

"Kendall has to come in--"

"She's with me now, Jesse."

There was a long pause on the other end, and Kendall could picture the exasperated look on Jesse's face at this maddening news, and appreciated the calm and steady cadence of his voice as he finally said, "All right. You can explain things in person. Just get her back here."

"She's not going to prison, Jesse."

"Get her back here."

Zach wasn't happy with the idea of obeying that order. Kendall didn't need to be a mind reader to tell that. Curving a hand along his face, she asked, "What alternative do we have?"

"We get the boys and go."

"And spend the rest of our lives running, always looking over our shoulders?" She caressed his cheek. "Zach, haven't you done that long enough?"

He closed his eyes a moment, and she longed to help him with the internal battle he was waging. He had to arrive at the right place in his own way.

"I can't lose you."

"You won't," she said, making it a vow.

He looked at her, nodding, letting out a pent up breath. "We might need a lawyer."

"Not Liza."

"Kendall--"

"It's non-negotiable."

He sighed, shook his head. "Fine. Not Liza. Any other conditions?"

"No," she settled back in the seat, "that'll do it."

Zach started the car, backing out onto the road. Hands resting on the steering wheel, he asked, "So - home?"

"Home," she confirmed, relishing the idea of it with a fresh awareness of just how much that simple word meant.

===

"Epilogue"

Luxuriating in the bubble bath, Kendall sighed. "Take me away."

"What?" Zach paused in his ministrations of slowly massaging her neck and shoulders.

"It's an old commercial. A woman takes a bath at the end of a long, hard day and imagines she's transported to some romantic fantasy."

"By a bath?"

"Don't knock it till you try it."

Zach resumed the massage, pondering the deeper meaning of her words. "Do you want to be whisked away?"

"Wouldn't say no." Shifting around to look at him, she asked, "What are you thinking?"

"That there's a whole wide world beyond Pine Valley waiting for us." A world without innuendo and whispers and endless, twisted drama.

"Well I did imagine you carrying me off to your castle."

"My castle?"

"What, you couldn't have a castle?"

Smiling, catching a handful of warm water and trailing it over her back, he said, "If you want a castle, I will get you a castle." That might be just the thing to keep her and the boys safe.

Everything had been sorted out. Adam had pled guilty; Scott and Annie were facing a host of charges; and if the eventual sentences fell short of what Zach would have liked to mete out, they would suffice. Accepting that meager justice might be easier with time and distance between them and all the players, though.

"Where do they have castles? Scotland?"

"Ireland," he bent to kiss the nape of her graceful neck, "the climate's better."

"Ireland." She sighed dreamily, sinking further down into the bubbles. "What if the boys didn't like it?"

"Why wouldn't they like it? They'd love it. You could finish your book."

"What would you do? Do they have casinos in Ireland?"

"I could lounge around drinking Guinness and getting fat."

Laughing, she stood up, suds and water cascading down her body, and he rocked back on his heels, breath taken away by her beauty. "I'll believe that when I see it," she said, reaching for a towel - stopping at a gesture from him, self-consciousness warring with delicious pleasure as she let him look his fill.

He got to his feet, both hands cradling her face, searching her eyes. "You're right," he murmured, kissing the corner of her mouth, "I could never mistake anyone else for you," he finished, lips brushing against hers. "Come to bed."

"What about Ireland?"

"It'll still be there," he said, waiting impatiently for her to dry herself off, catching her hand and pulling her to him when that was taking too long.

"I'm getting your clothes wet."

"I wasn't planning on wearing them much longer," he growled, sweeping her up in his arms and carrying her to bed.


End file.
